Head of U.S. Central Command Army General John Abizaid laid out his assessment of Iraq and the greater conflict against Al Qaida yesterday in front of the Senate Armed Service Committee. Much of it we already know, but some of it is new.

Abizaid explained the Syrian border with Iraq is still not controlled, something we already knew of course, but he said the Iraq National Guard only has one battle-ready batallions. This figure is down from three only a short time before. General Casey, in charge of Iraq, though says there are an additional 20,000 Iraqi soldiers ready to carry out offensives. It is the 7,000 figure which Abizaid describes as “Level 1.”

This news prompted General Casey to say he cannot see a substantial U.S. withdrawal from Iraq within the next year. He cautioned though the next 75 days are crucial.

“The next 75 days are going to be critical in what happens after that,” [Casey] testified, referring to a constitutional referendum Oct. 15 and parliamentary elections in December, for which 98 percent of eligible voters are registered.

Ninety-eight percent of eligible voters are registered? That figure is extremely high for any nation, much less a nation besieged by terrorists threatening to kill anyone who votes or even registers to vote.

Also in Abizaid’s speech was his belief of what Al Qaida seeks in the region.

Gen. Abizaid raised the stakes for Iraq by presenting a chilling assessment of al Qaeda’s worldwide goals. He said leader Osama bin Laden’s sights are set on Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and then the entire region, as well as Asia.

Although the Bush administration describes the conflict as the “war on terror,” Gen. Abizaid made clear the enemy is al Qaeda.

“Their objectives are very clear,” Gen. Abizaid said. “They believe in a jihad, a jihad, first and foremost, to overthrow the legitimate regimes in the region. But in order to do that, they have to first drive us from the region. This is what they believe. They believe, ultimately, that the greatest prize of all is Saudi Arabia and the holy shrines there.”

He said the war against Zarqawi’s al Qaeda in Iraq, and al Qaeda worldwide, presents “a rare opportunity to get in front of these extremists and focus on them now before al Qaeda and its underlying ideology becomes mainstream.”

Osama Bin Laden has stated numerous times in the past his desire to topple the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. In fact, this is to be the ultimate base of the Caliphate and he wants to run Saudi Arabia personally.

Make no mistake about it, if we were to leave Iraq to Al Qaida, they would topple the existing democratic Iraqi government and then move to Saudi Arabia. If you’re complaining of $3 gas now, imagine what it would cost if Al Qaida controlled the largest reserves in the world with a strict policy against selling oil to Western nations. That is assuming they would sell it in the first place.

From Saudi Arabia Al Qaida would move West into Africa and Europe. They already have a small foothold in Africa with cells in the Horn of Africa and throughout Europe. They believe Allah wants the entire world to convert to Islam and will kill or convert all who cross their path unless they are stopped.

The Islamic Revolution that came out of Iran during the early 1980s is a small insight into what Al Qaida wishes to accomplish. Iran though had several enemies abroad including in Saddam Hussein who started the Iran-Iraq war to keep the Islamic Revolution out of his country. This limited the reach of the movement.

Al Qaida though does not play by the same rules in which Iran did. They have no qualms with killing innocents along the way toward their stated goal of a Caliphate. Who is their biggest obstacle in this quest? The United States.

All the above is outlined in the Al Qaida strategy guide for the next twenty years that was found in the Netherlands. It is of great comfort that our military brass is reading Al Qaida’s material and acting accordingly.